Retribution
by Matt Guthrie
Summary: Dark AU. Aang's duel with Ozai was a draw. The airship fleet was destroyed, but Sokka, Toph, and Suki have all gone MIA. Azula killed Zuko in the Agni Kai, and Katara barely escaped. Aang and Katara must form a new Team Avatar and find the Water Tribe army without a hint as to where it is. Defeating Ozai is not optional. Features a few OCs. T for intense violence and mild language.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi girls/guys! After a couple of months being…Less active on this site (Just one new story I've been too lazy to update and a few reviews over the past couple of months), I've started another project I had ideas for months ago. I've been in a dark state of mind lately, which really gave me the creative energy I needed to truly get this thing started. **

**I do not own Avatar. I only own a few OCs that will appear soon. **

**Hope you like it, in spite of the dark vibe this story's going to give off. **

Chapter I

Nightmare. Death. Shattered hopes. Those were just a few words apt to describe what Katara could see in her dream a few nights after Sozin's Comet streaked through the skies. First it was a searing blast of lightning tearing through Zuko's chest. The maniacal, heartless laugher of the deranged Princess Azula, his sister and murderer, tore through the air. It was the laughter of a being that enjoyed such acts of fratricide.

Now she looked at Katara, staring into her soul with terrifying amber eyes. "I'd rather our family physician look after Little Zuzu if you don't mind." With an evil grin, she launched a combined blast of lightning and fire. Katara attempted to summon a jet of water to ward off the attack, but it was not enough. The flames engulfed her in their eviscerating embrace. There was no escape for her.

* * *

Aang heard a scream and bolted upright from his position in the saddle of his sky bison, Appa. Glancing to his right, he saw that Katara was also sitting up, and was using her hands to move herself backwards. In the dim moonlight, he could just see tears spilling from her eyes and cascading down her cheeks.

"Katara!" He ran up to his friend and placed a firm, but comforting, hand on her shoulder. "Katara, what's wrong?" He asked, although he thought he already knew.

Katara collapsed into his arms, buried her face into his shoulder, and sobbed. She did not need words to explain things; this had happened enough in the past few nights that Aang could tell when Katara had just woken up from a nightmare. The only thing he could do to comfort her was to hold her, and even that was feeble.

"They're gone!" Katara cried in a muffled voice. "They're-"

"Shh…It's okay…It's okay…" He kissed the top of her head and stroked her dark, waist-length hair, waiting for her tears to run dry and for her anguished cries to end. The nearest town was a couple of miles away, making the risk of detection minimal, but that was not what concerned Aang.

It was the sight of his friend in such a broken state that got to him. Ever since he had met her, Katara had been the strong one among his friends. He and the others in his ragtag group, which maxed out at six members not very long ago, often turned to her for reassurance. She had convinced Zuko to seek his Uncle's forgiveness for past treachery, been to Toph, a young earthbender, the older sister figure she never had. But now everything had changed for the worse.

Zuko, who had just now redeemed himself, was dead, and Katara barely escaped with her life. The same was to be said of Aang in the aftermath of his duel with the notorious Fire Lord Ozai. And from their other friends; Toph, Suki, and especially Katara's goofy older brother Sokka, nothing had been heard. They were missing in action, and probably all dead, having all been on one of Ozai's airships that went down on its way to the Earth Kingdom.

"What are we going to do?" Katara asked weakly, with little attempt to hide the fear in her voice.

Truthfully, Aang had no idea what they were doing. They had merely been flying around on Appa, taking random directions to keep any possible pursuers guessing. Ozai knew the Avatar remained at large, and probably had search teams out for him, although Aang and Katara had not encountered any Fire Nation soldiers since Sozin's Comet.

However, just flying in random directions would not help for much longer. Sooner or later, Aang would need to either end the Fire Nation's century-long reign of terror or die trying. But as long as it was him and Katara against what seemed to be the world, doing so would be foolhardy. He had no plan to speak of, anyway.

_What if I'm only delaying the inevitable?_ Aang mentally kicked himself for thinking so pessimistically. _Stop that! She's been strong for you for months, ever since she met you. Now it's your turn. _

"Everything's going to be okay, Katara."

"How?" Katara let go of Aang and looked into his eyes. "We don't know what we're doing anymore, and our allies are all either dead or missing. Hope is the one thing we always had, but now I'm not sure if I even have that anymore."

Aang had to think for a moment before he could respond to this. As bleak as their situation appeared at the time, it could still have been much worse. "Not everything is lost," He said after a few moments of trying to find the right words, "Your father wasn't in the fight, nor were the other men of the Water Tribe, so it's very possible that they're still out there somewhere. And the airship fleet was destroyed before it could do too much damage to the Earth Kingdom. We still have a chance."

And then it occurred to him; why had he not set course for the Earth Kingdom yet to curry support? Surely there were some people there sympathetic to their cause. The Fire Nation hadn't exactly treated the Earth Kingdom citizens in their colonies that well. Why should they expect them to support their oppressors?

"You should get some sleep. We're headed for Haru's village tomorrow."

"You think he's there now?"

"I think so. Now seriously, get some sleep. I'll keep an eye out for Fire Nation soldiers."

Katara nodded wearily. "Okay. Thank you, Aang." She wrapped her arms around him, then walked over to Appa's saddle.

Aang remained seated and pretended to actually keep an eye out for people. He heard footsteps in the distance and got up to investigate. "H-hello?" He called hesitantly.

More footsteps approached, seemingly quicker than before. Aang used his earthbending to pick up a nearby rock, and prepared to launch it at the first true sign of trouble. In the distance, through the trees, he could just make out the shape of a person running, and he was approaching fast. The dark shape did not appear to be wearing a Fire Nation helmet.

"Hello? Who are-?"

Suddenly, the figure leapt and tackled Aang to the ground, knocking the wind out of the airbender. As he gasped, the person drew a knife, and raised it above his head. It started to bring the blade down, but stopped suddenly upon noticing the blue arrow tattoo on Aang's forehead.

"Avatar Aang…" The person's masculine voice said somewhat raggedly. The stranger got up and offered a hand to Aang, who hesitantly took it. The Avatar stood up for a moment, then kneeled over, as he had not yet regained his breath.

"I'm sorry," The stranger said, "For some reason I thought you were a Fire Nation soldier."

Aang looked up at him. The stranger appeared to be a boy of about fifteen. He was tall and slim, with toned biceps. It was a similar build to Sokka's. His hair was dark and shoulder length, allowed to hang loose in the back while the rest was tied back with the exception of two slim braids on the left side of his face. He was wearing what looked like the battle armor of one of the Water Tribes.

"Don't worry about it," Aang replied once he regained his voice, "It's hard to tell these things in a dark forest, even if we're not too far from a clearing." He paused. "Who are you, anyway? You look like you're a Water Tribe soldier. Where are the rest?"

"My name is Markka. And I've been separated from the others for a while." Markka looked at him wistfully. "Do…Do you have any food? I've been on the run for a week, and I've hardly eaten anything for a couple of days."

He sounded desperate, and Aang could tell he was telling the truth. Markka really did look as if he had not eaten much lately.

"Come with me. Katara and I have some food left, and I've got some questions."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi girls/guys! I'm back a lot sooner than expected with the second chapter of this story. Also, my other story, The Burning Earth (Which has been on hiatus for a couple of months) is finally in progress again. Expect an update on that one within the week. **

**Note: In this story, Azula was never coroneted as Fire Lord, and Ozai technically is not the Phoenix King…Yet. **

**I do not own Avatar. Just Markka and a couple of other OCs who will appear later on. **

**Enjoy! **

Chapter II

About ten minutes later, Markka was making short work of his third pepper. Aang and Katara, who had not been able to get back to sleep before Markka showed up, did not say anything to him. They just waited until he was finished eating. However, Katara had to intervene when the water tribe boy reached for a fourth vegetable.

"Don't stuff yourself right now. I know it's tempting, but eating so much after eating so little can make you sick."

"Point taken." He retracted his empty hand from the vegetable basket. "Besides, you two probably need this to last longer." He paused. "So Aang, you said you had some questions earlier, right?"

"Yeah, how are you still in the Fire Nation? Weren't you at the invasion?"

"I was there," Markka affirmed, "After the Northern Water Tribe was attacked, I went down with the others to help our sister tribe rebuild. However, Master Pakku had me left in the Earth Kingdom because of 'self-destructive behavior'. I managed to stow away on a merchant ship headed for Ba Sing Se, and left early when I saw the Southern Tribe's camp on the Eastern Shore. I was with them the whole time from there until the invasion."

"But how did you get separated from them?" Katara asked.

"I was taken as a prisoner of war," Markka replied, "I escaped days before Sozin's Comet. Strangled a guard who came to take me to another prisoner's torture session, and-"

"Wait, _another_ prisoner's torture session?" Katara interrupted.

"It's not uncommon during torture sessions for the prisoner's friends, family, etc. to be taken and forced to watch. This is especially true if the torture method is particularly inhumane, like with burning." Markka paused, having realized that he had gotten off-topic. "As I was saying, I strangled a guard and stole his sword, then managed to take back my Water Tribe armor, and got out as a free man. I've been on the run ever since."

"Why didn't you just do what you did last time and stow away on a ship headed for the Earth Kingdom?" Aang asked.

"Couldn't find one," Markka replied simply, "It seems like they had all left shortly before the comet." He then changed the subject. "So why are you two here?"

Aang took a deep breath before explaining what had happened. "After the Invasion failed, we had to execute a new attack plan during the Comet. Sokka, Toph, and Suki had to take down the airship fleet, while the Order of the White Lotus was tasked with retaking Ba Sing Se. Katara and Zuko were-"

"Wait a minute, you mean the prince of the Fire Nation?"

"Yeah, him. He and Katara had to fight Azula. And as the Avatar, naturally I had to fight the Fire Lord himself.

"This plan didn't work, either. The airship fleet was destroyed, but we haven't heard from our friends who took it down. We're almost certain they're dead because the fleet was over the sea at the time. We have no idea about the Order of the White Lotus, either. Zuko was killed, and Katara barely escaped. And Ozai escaped when he realized the fleet was destroyed. I couldn't stop him. Katara managed to find me, and we've been hopping around the Fire Nation ever since."

"Sokka? Missing and probably dead?"

Katara looked sadly down at the ground. "Yes." She then looked back up at him, not wanting him to take too much pity on her. "Did you ever get to know Sokka while we were at the Northern Water Tribe?"

Markka nodded in the affirmative. He had not spoken with Sokka very much, but when he did, the other boy struck him as oafish and clumsy. It was amusing, however, and Markka was still taken aback by the news of his presumed death. "I'm sorry about your brother, Katara."

"You shouldn't be. It wasn't your fault."

Markka nodded again, then changed the subject. "So where are the two of you headed?"

"We weren't sure just earlier, to be honest," Aang replied, "But I think it'd be a good idea for us to go to Ba Sing Se. Maybe we'll find the Order of the White Lotus there. Even if not, there's the outside chance that the Water Tribe army has returned to the Eastern Shore to set their camp back up."

Markka nodded a third time. "I see…But why don't you just go at the Fire Lord's throat again? Third time's a charm, right?"

"The world needs me to end the Fire Nation's tyranny, but I can't be reckless about it. If just Katara and I went into the Fire Nation Capital, we'd still be incredibly outnumbered, and it would be nothing short of a suicide mission. We need strength in numbers."

Markka lips formed a grim smile. "I want in."

"That's good, because I was going to ask you to join us anyway," Aang replied. He looked up at the moon and determined from its position in the sky that it was very early in the morning. "I'll watch out for Fire Nation soldiers. You two get some rest. We'll leave for the Earth Kingdom tomorrow morning."

Markka's smile grew slightly. "Thanks." He lay down on the grass and closed his eyes. _Watch your back, Ozai. We're coming for you, and I swear you will answer for all of the suffering you have caused._

* * *

"Do you know why you have been summoned here, Kazeev?"

Ozai sat on his throne inside the Royal Palace, staring down at the citizen whose presence he had recently requested. It was a young man, nineteen years old, with pale skin and jet black hair hanging nearly to his shoulders. He wore black and red Fire Nation attire with gold trim, indicating his ties to Fire Nation nobility.

"No, my Lord. I do not."

"I have summoned you here in part because several things you believe about your family are lies."

"My Lord, what do you mean?"

"Who did you grow up believing were your parents?"

Kazeev frowned very slightly, irritated that his question had been answered with another. "My mother is Izima, since passed, but nobody has told me who my real father is."

Ozai nodded slowly, maintaining a calculated stare. "Would you believe me if I told you that I was your father?"

Kazeev hesitated before answering. He had years ago given up his attempts to locate his real father. He found it hard to believe that anyone who just claimed that title actually was his father. Then again, it was the Fire Lord. He had been taught to believe that the Fire Lord's word was either law or truth or both.

"I believe that what you say is true, my Lord."

"Very good, because it is true. Kazeev, I was married to your mother before I married my last wife, Ursa. However, shortly after you were born, my father, who was then the Fire Lord, had her exiled because of perceived disloyalty. He forced me to give you up for adoption."

Kazeev masked his surprise, nodding only slightly. "My Lord, why did you not inform me of this sooner after Azulon's death?"

"That is not an important matter;" Ozai replied dismissively, "What matters is my other reason for bringing you here and telling you of your true parentage."

"Oh?"

"The right to succeed me as Fire Lord is disputable. You are my oldest child, and also legitimate, but you were not part of the royal family when I convinced Azulon to give me my brother's birthright. My second son was killed, as you know. Finally, I have a daughter, Azula. She is currently my heir apparent.

"However, as of late she has exhibited…Unstable behavior. I have found myself questioning whether or not she is fit to rule the Fire Nation. It is quite disappointing because she has so much potential."

"So what are you going to do, My Lord? Are you going to challenge me to an Agni Kai against my half-sister for the right to eventually take your place?"

"Not exactly," Ozai replied, "The Avatar is still at large. I'm sending you and Azula on separate manhunts to find and kill him. He is too much of a threat to be kept alive. Whichever of you kills him becomes the heir to the throne. That is, if you accept the challenge."

_Easiest decision I'll ever make. _"I accept your challenge, My Lord."

"Very good," Ozai drawled sinisterly, "You start tomorrow, and the hunt will be indefinite. You are dismissed. There's a servant outside the door who will show you to your room for the night."

"Yes, my Lord. Thank you."

Ozai's grim, serpentine smile remained etched onto his face as the young man left. _All that is necessary is for one of them to destroy the Avatar, and then nothing can stand in my way. And that day will come. Annihilation will be unavoidable. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi girls/guys! Here's chapter three! It took a while for me to figure out how exactly to write this one. **

**A tragedy just happened in the world of good vampire literature. (And no, fangirls; Twilight is not good vampire literature.) The fourth book in the Danilov Quintet (by Jasper Kent), ****_The People's Will_****, isn't being published in America! This ticks me off so freaking much! Ugh! I was able to get it on kindle, but it's not quite the same as owning the actual book. **

**I don't own Avatar, just a few OCs. Hope you all like this one. **

Chapter III

Aang, Katara, and their new friend Markka packed up their temporary camp the next morning and set out for Haru's Village. Flying in the saddle of a flying bison, a creature long thought to be extinct, was very unlike anything Markka had ever done before. However, he couldn't help but smile when Appa took off.

"I like this flying thing so far," He said after a few minutes.

"That's good, because we'll be doing a lot of it," Aang replied, "He's our fastest way of getting to wherever the Water Tribe forces are."

"Aang," Katara began, "Don't you think it's possible that they're headed for one of the Poles?"

"I doubt it," Aang replied, "They'd be too easily mistaken for Fire Nation forces. Do you remember what direction they were going in on that captured airship?"

"Wait, they captured an airship?" Markka asked for clarification.

Katara scrunched her eyebrows together, trying to remember. "They were going…I think maybe they might have gone southeast or south-southeast?" She offered, very unsure of her guess.

"Maybe we just need to form a new group," Aang pondered, "We need an earthbender and a firebender, and we don't have any clue where the Water Tribe's forces are. Maybe after we've completed the team, we'll have an idea."

"Guys," Markka interjected, "We're already headed to your friend's village. And seeing as how we were at one of the smaller Fire Nation islands closer to the Earth Kingdom, I really don't think we're that much further away. There's no point in changing our course right now."

"You're right," Katara agreed. Suddenly she turned around and seemed to notice a familiar sight. "Hey, that's the prison rig just outside the village! We really are close!"

Markka turned in the direction she was facing and saw a giant metal structure that was supported by several bars jutting out from the water. Squinting, Markka could see a few Fire Nation soldiers just outside the door at the base of the tower at the very center of the rig. All of them seemed to have their weapons at the ready, but there were no aggressors in sight.

_At least, _Markka thought, _Not that they know of._

"Maybe somebody on that prison rig knows where the Water Tribe forces might be," He suggested to the others.

"How would they?" Aang questioned.

"Well, Hakoda stole an airship, right?"

"Yeah."

"And he might have bailed out the other prisoners of war by now, taking them with him in his airship. What if the airships that have passed through this area are always going in a specific direction?"

Aang thought for a moment, then nodded. "You have a point. And it looks like the Fire Nation has re-captured the rig anyway, so we should be able to find an earthbender here."

Katara, who had been the one actually flying Appa while Aang maintained a cloud camouflage surrounding them, steered the flying bison down toward the few soldiers on the rig. None of them saw the animal zeroing in on them, and soon found themselves flattened underneath the beast. None of them died, but nor were they in any position to fight off their unexpected, and unwanted, guests.

"Stay put," Markka said to them, "We'll be back to interrogate you all later."

He, Aang, and Katara all passed them and ran toward the door to the massive wall that divided the rig in two. By the time they got through, about a minute later, they could hear footsteps and the falling of bodies overhead. Clearly, something was going on.

"So that's why the guards looked ready to impale whoever dared to step outside earlier," Markka observed, "Guys, come with me. Whatever prisoners are up there must be seriously outnumbered." Without waiting for the others, he turned to the left and started ascending the stairs in that direction.

"Markka, wait!" Katara urged too late as Aang followed him. She sighed, reluctantly following. _Oh sure, let's just dive headlong into what could be a prison riot! Brilliant idea!_

As the leader of the charge, Markka was naturally the first to encounter a soldier who had sensed their unexpected arrival. However, he was not fast enough for Markka, who was quick to ram the blade of one of his knives into his throat. The water tribe boy continued onward without even giving him a second glance. The other two followed him, but gave the dying soldier their own respective looks of sympathy and remorse. No matter what a person had done, both hated to see people die like this.

Despite having the disadvantage of lower ground, Markka still got past every soldier in his way, leaving them incapacitated. Some were left lying on the ground awkwardly, writhing in the agony of broken bones. Others clutched at fresh wounds in their limbs and necks, trying in vain to stop the bleeding.

Before long, the three of them had reached a platform connecting two staircases that appeared to go in opposite directions. Markka stayed ahead of his new companions, leading them to the right, and up the other staircase. What Aang and Katara saw came as quite a surprise to them.

One Fire Nation soldier seemed to be manipulating a large clump of coal and using it as a blunt force weapon. As if an earthbending Fire Nation soldier wasn't bizarre enough, his opponents were more soldiers, none of whom fared particularly well against him. One was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head, and another was knocked over the edge of the railing, falling awkwardly on the staircase below. The sickening sound of his neck snapping could just barely be heard over the ruckus above.

Markka, however, had not noticed the rogue soldier, and charged at him by mistake. He clubbed him in the back of the head with a blunted whale tooth scimitar, then kicked another soldier in the ribcage, knocking him backward. Aang knocked two other guards out with fireballs, while Katara made a thick ice barrier at the top of the stairs to prevent more soldiers from descending.

Still, Markka was not done with the rogue soldier, who had struggled to his feet. The water tribe boy shoved him down the stairs and followed him as he tumbled down, landing at Aang and Katara's feet. The other two were shouting at Markka, but he did not hear them as he sheathed his whale tooth scimitar and drew the knife he had used earlier. As he had demonstrated moments ago, he wasn't afraid to take lives.

"Wait!" The rogue soldier yelled, "I'm not one of them! Just an imposter!"

"Markka, he was fighting against the other soldiers," Katara added.

Markka stopped upon hearing this. "Wait, what?"

"I infiltrated this rig recently. I killed a straggling Fire Nation soldier in my village, which isn't too far from here, and took his armor."

_Wait a minute…His village isn't far away, and his voice sounds familiar. _"Haru, is it you?"

The impersonator tugged off his helmet, revealing the face of a young man. He had grown a wispy goatee and mustache not too long ago, and wore a green headband on his head. His dark brown hair, which was normally allowed to fall to around the middle of his back, was tied into a messy bun instead.

"Yep, it's me." He replied simply, offering a smile.

Katara beamed and enveloped him in a hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"Sorry I almost killed you moments ago," Markka added, feeling a bit awkward. _I have got to stop charging headlong into every fight I stumble across! _

"Yeah, we were actually headed for your village." Markka detected a hint of jealousy in Aang's voice.

Haru's face fell at the mention of his village. "Yeah, about that…" He cast a thin veil of nonchalance over his voice to mask how he truly felt.

"What happened?" Katara asked, though the look in her eyes indicated that she had a good idea of what it was.

Haru stood up. "You must have come on Appa. The aftermath of what happened is something you'll need to see for yourselves."

Aang and Katara exchanged dreadful looks. Both suspected that whatever happened to his village, and both thought they had deduced what it was, had something to do with why he was on the prison rig under the guise of a Fire Nation soldier.

"Are there any earthbender prisoners here, or anyone else on this rig impersonating Fire Nation soldiers?" Markka asked.

"No," Haru replied with a dark edge in his voice, "I acted completely alone. Soon enough, you'll see that I have a reason for it."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi girls/guys! I'm back. This chapter took a while because I went longer than intended without writing in it, but hey, better late than never, right? **

**Note: Due to my involvement in a community service project from 6/16-6/20, I will not be able to write anything during that time. Also, there are several upcoming chapters in The Burning Earth, my collaborative and main project, that I have been looking forward to writing for a while. I am not sure what to do for chapter V, either. In short, it might be a while before this story gets updated. **

**I do not own Avatar. **

Chapter IV

Contrary to what Markka told the soldiers that were trapped underneath Appa earlier, they were not interrogated when "later" came about. The group figured that they could get more honest answers more easily from Haru than he and his friends would from Fire Nation forces. Haru was a friend of Aang and Katara, which made him more trustworthy. Information from a soldier was more likely to be a trap.

"You left the Western Air Temple with my dad and some of the others, right?" Katara asked.

"Yeah, I was with them."

"Then why are you acting alone now?" Markka questioned.

"Also," Aang added, "Where was Hakoda planning to go?"

"My father asked Hakoda to drop the two of us off at our village so we could help my mother. I knew it must have been extremely difficult for both her husband and only child to be away for so long. Besides, there was no guarantee the Fire Nation wouldn't come back to my village.

"Before that, Hakoda had posed as the captain of the stolen airship and flown around the Fire Nation, freeing a lot of the prisoners from the Invasion. He claimed that he had orders to take them all to a special prison in one of the colonies. More like a death camp, but you get the idea."

"Wait, death camp?" Katara asked concernedly.

"Yeah, he heard that Ozai had commissioned the construction of one at the very south of the Fire Nation. Its construction hasn't been completed just yet, though. We got a glimpse at the place as the construction process was drawing to a close. Nobody's been thrown in there yet."

"And how many prisoners did he pick up in total?" Markka asked.

"Offhand, I'd estimate several hundred. Airships aren't small, you know. And there were a lot of prisoners for them to take since there weren't many casualties on our side of the invasion."

"But after he freed a bunch of prisoners of war, where was he going?" Aang paraphrased his previous question, which Haru had not answered.

"He has plans to liberate Ba Sing Se. The Fire Nation forces that are currently occupying the city won't suspect the theft of one of their airships. It should take them by surprise enough that our likely numerical disadvantage won't matter."

"So after you show us whatever happened at your village, Ba Sing Se should be our next destination," Aang said. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not so sure the ruse will work."

"He's right," Markka agreed, "Hakoda doesn't seem to have any backup. That needs to be us." Katara and Haru nodded in accord.

"But first," Haru replied, "I said I'd show you what happened to my village."

Katara took note of the melancholy in his voice. "You really don't have to if you don't want to."

"But I should. It will explain why I've been acting alone and why I was on the prison rig in the first place." He could not bring himself to just tell them of the tragedy that had befallen him.

* * *

In the early afternoon, they arrived where Haru's village…Used to be. Where once a small mining village stood, there was a desolate wasteland. Not a single building that was there almost a year ago, when Katara, Aang, and Sokka first came, was still standing.

"Oh no…" Katara's voice didn't come above a whisper.

"Upon our return here, my father and I heard that an airship fleet was on its way to basically burn the whole Earth Kingdom to the ground during Sozin's Comet. However, it never came, and instead, the next day, A large battalion came to destroy the village. With them were five cavalry mounted on komodo rhinos."

Aang's head popped up in recognition of the reference to the cavalry. They were the Rough Rhinos, a freelance squad that preyed on largely defenseless villages to demoralize the Earth Kingdom. Mercy was a concept with no meaning to them; they came, destroyed everyone and everything in their path, and continued on their way, leaving nothing but ashes, rubble, and dead bodies in their wake.

Haru walked in the direction of his house and beckoned for the other three to follow. "They burned everything to the ground," He continued, "Me and Dad were the only ones who could really defend the village. We were hopelessly outnumbered."

"They just attacked a virtually defenseless village?" Markka asked.

Haru gave him a sideways glance and nodded grimly. "The cowards would not have touched us if we had a local militia to fend them off."

By the bitter tone in Haru's voice, the others deduced that he would prefer for them not to ask any more questions for the time being. They continued in silence until they arrived at the location of Haru's house. Like all the other buildings that once stood, it had been reduced to rubble and ash. However, just beyond the ruins were two tombstones arranged side by side.

"At one point in the fight, I was separated from my parents. When I last saw them, my dad was trying to form an earth barrier separating him and mom from the five cavalry. I was trapped inside a burning building and had to fight my way out. By the time I had gotten past a few dozen foot soldiers and made it back to where I last saw them…" He paused in an attempt to maintain his composure. "…The cavalry were gone…" His voice shook somewhat. "…Mom was dead and Dad was dying."

Katara placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "…Haru…"

"That's why I had gone to the prison rig alone. I wanted to avenge my parents, and I had nobody to help me." He paused.

"Haru, this isn't a good idea," Katara objected, "Killing people won't bring your parents back, and you know it."

"It's not about bringing them back," Haru replied somewhat harshly, "Nobody can bring them back. This is about closure and justice. I need this."

"The monks at my temple used to say-"

"Good for them," Haru interrupted Aang's proverb curtly, "But I'm not a monk. I want – I have to do this. I…I promised my father just before he died that I would do it. Guys, don't try to stop me. Please."

Katara nodded. "Alright. If you really think this is what you need, we won't stop you. But don't let your goal interfere with the big picture. We need to get to Ba Sing Se, and if you're coming with us, that needs to be your main priority."

Haru nodded. "I understand." He started to walk back to the shore, where they had left Appa. "Let's get going. I don't want to be here any longer."

The others followed him, although Aang found himself second-guessing whether or not they could count on Haru. Would he really prioritize the big picture over his thirst for vengeance? Or would he abandon them if he learned the Rough Rhinos were elsewhere? Only time would tell.


End file.
